Dan Schoenbrun’s film “collective:unconscious” is an omnibus film like no one has ever seen before. In 2014, Schoenbrun asked five filmmakers to adapt each other’s dreams for the screen. What began as a quick five-part web series evolved into one of the most original debut features of 2016. Now, the film will be available to the public to download for free exclusively on BitTorrent on August 9th, complete with bonus features, samples of the directors’ previous work, and the original recordings of the dreams they adapted. Watch the trailer for the film below and check out a poster as well.
Read More: Cannes 2016: Meet Dan Schoenbrun, Senior Film Outreach Lead At Kickstarter
The five filmmakers featured in “collective: unconscious” are Lily Baldwin (“Sleepover La”), Frances Bodomo (“Afronauts”), Daniel Patrick Carbone (“Hide Your Smiling Faces”), Josephine Decker (“Thou Wast Mild and Lovely”), and Lauren Wolkstein (“Social Butterfly”).
Dan Schoenbrun is...
Read More: Cannes 2016: Meet Dan Schoenbrun, Senior Film Outreach Lead At Kickstarter
The five filmmakers featured in “collective: unconscious” are Lily Baldwin (“Sleepover La”), Frances Bodomo (“Afronauts”), Daniel Patrick Carbone (“Hide Your Smiling Faces”), Josephine Decker (“Thou Wast Mild and Lovely”), and Lauren Wolkstein (“Social Butterfly”).
Dan Schoenbrun is...
- 7/19/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Be prepared. Write, then rewrite your script until it’s perfect. Shot list, storyboard, create a visual plan for your cinematic universe.
There’s a myth, which often starts in film school and is perpetuated by dissecting the work of great directors, that up-and-coming directors can plan their entire movies in their head. Yet what so often happens when first-time feature directors get to set — and their movie exits their head and becomes reality — is things are totally different than what they imagined. Previous concerns instantly become irrelevant, while problems never imagined become stark realities. Collaborations alter plans and bring new possibilities to the table, but it often becomes impossible to harness and adjust when low budget filmmaking, with its impossibly tight shooting schedule, is a race against the clock.
Photo Gallery: Behind the Scenes of the 2016 Sundance Directors Lab
At the heart of the Sundance Directors Lab is the...
There’s a myth, which often starts in film school and is perpetuated by dissecting the work of great directors, that up-and-coming directors can plan their entire movies in their head. Yet what so often happens when first-time feature directors get to set — and their movie exits their head and becomes reality — is things are totally different than what they imagined. Previous concerns instantly become irrelevant, while problems never imagined become stark realities. Collaborations alter plans and bring new possibilities to the table, but it often becomes impossible to harness and adjust when low budget filmmaking, with its impossibly tight shooting schedule, is a race against the clock.
Photo Gallery: Behind the Scenes of the 2016 Sundance Directors Lab
At the heart of the Sundance Directors Lab is the...
- 7/12/2016
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
A slate of 12 upcoming features seeking French and European co-producers and sales representation were presented at the event running within the Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris.
Ghanaian New York-based director Frances Bodomo’s upcoming feature Afronauts, based on the real-life tale of a Zambian bid to enter the space race shortly after the country gained independence in 1964, was one of the projects drawing strong buzz at the Paris Coproduction Village running June 8-10.
“On the basis of the number meetings booked this was one of the most popular projects on the table although of course a lot will happen behind...
Ghanaian New York-based director Frances Bodomo’s upcoming feature Afronauts, based on the real-life tale of a Zambian bid to enter the space race shortly after the country gained independence in 1964, was one of the projects drawing strong buzz at the Paris Coproduction Village running June 8-10.
“On the basis of the number meetings booked this was one of the most popular projects on the table although of course a lot will happen behind...
- 6/13/2016
- ScreenDaily
Paris Co-pro Village buzz titles include 'Afronauts', 'Blood-Drenched Beard', 'Dark Lies The Island'
A slate of 12 upcoming features seeking French and European co-producers and sales representation were presented at the event running within the Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris.
Ghanaian New York-based director Frances Bodomo’s upcoming feature Afronauts, based on the real-life tale of a Zambian bid to enter the space race shortly after the country gained independence in 1964, was one of the projects drawing strong buzz at the Paris Coproduction Village running June 8-10.
“On the basis of the number meetings booked this was one of the most popular projects on the table although of course a lot will happen behind...
Ghanaian New York-based director Frances Bodomo’s upcoming feature Afronauts, based on the real-life tale of a Zambian bid to enter the space race shortly after the country gained independence in 1964, was one of the projects drawing strong buzz at the Paris Coproduction Village running June 8-10.
“On the basis of the number meetings booked this was one of the most popular projects on the table although of course a lot will happen behind...
- 6/13/2016
- ScreenDaily
Industry Days 2016 includes the fifth edition of Us in Progress and the third edition of Paris Coproduction Village. Industry Days aims at becoming a reference in professional meetings for French and European producers, with a strong positioning towards the enhancement of emerging cinematography.
Paris Co-Production Village Unveils Its Project Selections
Organized by Les Arcs European Film Festival within the frame of the Champs-Elysées Film Festival Industry Days, Paris Co-production Village is a development and financing platform for feature projects selected worldwide.
For its third edition, which will take place June 8-10, 2016 in Paris, the 12 following projects have been selected:
-"Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo (2015 - short film « Afronauts » Sundance Ff, Berlinale, AFI Fest, Chicago Iff ; 2014 - short film "Boneshaker" Sundance Ff, SXSW Ff, Chicago Iff, Edinburgh Iff) produced by Nomadic Independence (USA).
-"Blood-Drenched Beard" by Aly Muritiba (2015 - "To My Beloved" San Sebastian Ff Horizontes Latinos, Official Competition Montreal World Film Festival; 2015 - "Tarantula" Venice Ff Orizonti) produced by Rt Features (Brazil).
-"The Bus to Amerika" by Derya Durmaz (2015 - short film "Mother Virgin No More" Berlinale Generations 14plus Short Film Competition) produced by Mars Production (Turkey).
-"Dark Lies the Island" by Ian Fitzgibbon (2011 - "Death of a Superhero" Toronto Iff, Jury and Audience Awards Les Arcs European Film Festival ; 2010 - "Perrier's Bountru" Toronto Iff, Seattle Iff) produced by Grand Pictures (Ireland).
-"God Exists, her Name is Petrunija" by Teona Strugar Mitevska (2012 - "The Woman Who Brushed Her Tears" Berlinale Panaroma Special; 2008 - "I am from Tito Veles" Berlinale Panorama Section, Special Jury Award Sarajevo Ff, Toronto Iff, Cannes Ff Acid selection) produced by Sisters and Brother Mitevski Production (Macedonia).
-"Golden Voices" by Evgeny Ruman (2015 - "The Man in the Wall" Rotterdam Iff, Best acting Award Odessa Iff; 2012 - "Igor & the Cranes' Journey" Toronto Iff, Special Mention Haifa Iff) produced by United Channel Movies (Israel).
-"Prince" by Sebastian Muñoz produced by Niña Niño Films (Chile) and Le Tiro Films (Argentina).
-"Remarkable Things During a Killing" by Joko Anwar (2015 - "A Copy of my Mind" Venice Iff, Toronto Iff, Busan Iff, Rotterdam Iff; 2012 - "Ritual" SXSW, Gerardmer Fantasy Ff) produced by Lo-Fi Flicks (Indonesia).
-"When the Waves are Gone" by Lav Diaz (2016 - "A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery"Alfred Bauer Award Berlinale Official Competition; 2014 - "From What is Before" Golden Leopard Locarno Iff, Audience Award Sao paulo Iff) produced by Epicmedia (The Philippines).
Projets selected within the frame of the Focus Colombia :
"Almost Never Too Late" by Alfonso Acosta (2012 - "The Crack" Busan Iff, Sao Paulo Iff, Gerardmer Fantasy Ff, Neuchatel International Fantastic Ff) produced by Cabecitanegra Producciones.
-"The Stone" by Rafael Martinez Moreno (2015 - short film "Round Numbers" Zinebi Bilbao Official Selection; 2012 - short film "120 Minutes of Freedom", Bogota International Film Festival) produced by Miramar Entertainment.
-"The Tailor" by Cesar Heredia (2015 - short film "Elefante" Official Competition Cartagena Iff) produced by Corte Film, Tree House Film (Panama) and Diafragma (Colombia).
This selection aims at showing the diversity of world cinema, in terms of geography as well as a balance between newcomers and experienced directors. It includes:
- 1 American project, 1 Israeli project, 3 European projects, 2 Asian projects and 5 projects from Latin America including 3 projects part of the Colombian Focus
- 5 first feature films projects (marked with *)
Colombia is the guest country of this third edition
In partnership with Proimágenes Colombia, Paris Coproduction Village will present this year a « Colombian Focus », inviting 3 Colombian projects in development. A conference, organized with the support of the Cnc, will take place during the event and will discuss the improvement of the French-Colombian coproduction framework.
In addition, the 6 residents of Cannes Film Festival Cinéfondation will join the selection:
-"Feathers of a Father" by Omar El Zohairy (Egypt)
-"Fronteira" by Nuno Baltazar (Portugal)
-"Letters from the Land of the Tarahumara" by Federico Cecchetti (Mexico/France)
-"Tinnitus" by Gregorio Grazios (Brazil)
-"The Users" by Ivan Ikic (Serbia)
-"Disappearance" by Ali Asgari (Iran)
All these projects will benefit from one-to-one pre-scheduled meetings with producers, sales agents, distributors, from networking events, as well as seminars taught by leading film industry professionals.
Paris Coproduction Village is supported by the Cnc, Procirep and Cofiloisirs. It is organized in collaboration with our partners Cannes Cinéfondation, Ace, Cinando, Haf (Hong-Kong Asian Film Financing Forum), Variety, LatAm, Producers Network, Screen, Eave, Europa International, Cineuropa and Ecran Total.
The team behind Paris Coproduction Village is the team of Les Arcs European Film Festival, that is to say:
Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin, CEO
Jérémy Zelnik, Head of Industry
Alice Guilbaud, Coproduction Village Manager
Guillaume Calop, General Manager
Claire-Marine Piétriga, General Coordinator
Clémentine Larroudé, Head of Partnerships
Fabienne Silvestre-Bertoncini, Public and Institutional Relations
Us in Progress Unveils Its Project Selection
Us in Progress will take place in the scope of the 5th edition of Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris on June 8-10. The Program is a joint initiative between the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, the Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris and Black Rabbit Film in New York. It is the first and only industry event devoted to Us indies in Europe. The aim of the program is to present Us indie films in post-production to European buyers in order to foster the circulation and distribution of American indie films in Europe.
For the 5th edition of Us in Progress within the scope of the Industry Days, 4 feature-length narrative films have been selected to compete for the Us in Progress Prize :
-"California Dreams" Directed by Mike Ott / Produced by Alex Gioulakis
-"Easy Living" Directed by Adam Keleman / Produced by Laura Wagner
-"Everything Beautiful is Far Away" Directed by Pete Ohs and Andrea Sisson / Produced by Andrea Sisson and Saul Germaine
-"Otto : My Life is a Soundtrack" Directed by Margarita Jimeno / Andrew Corkin and Sol Bondy
This year, we are also introducing documentaries at the Us in Progress Paris with the selection of 2 films:
-"Academy" Directed by Brent Chesanek / Produced by Andrew Renzi and Andrew Corkin
-"Whirlybird" Directed by Matt Yoka / Produced by Steve Holmgren, Erin Lee Carr, Greg Lanesey and Matt Radecki
For two days, the project holders will present their rough cuts to 40 top European sales agents, distributors, festivals programmers and producers. On the third day, they will get advices and feedbacks from the screenings through one-to-one meetings with the buyers.
The awarded film will get post-production, acquisition and promotion services offered by our partners : TitraFilm, Europa Distribution, Producers Network, Ciné +, Eaux Vives Productions, Indiewire-SydneysBuzz, Centre Phi, Kickstarter and a newcomer the Studios d’Arenberg (Arenberg Creative Mine).
Us in Progress involves two yearly get-togethers and the next edition will take place in Wroclaw in October 2016 in the scope of the American Film Festival. Us in Progress Wroclaw’s submissions starts from April 6th to August 31st.
Paris Co-Production Village Unveils Its Project Selections
Organized by Les Arcs European Film Festival within the frame of the Champs-Elysées Film Festival Industry Days, Paris Co-production Village is a development and financing platform for feature projects selected worldwide.
For its third edition, which will take place June 8-10, 2016 in Paris, the 12 following projects have been selected:
-"Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo (2015 - short film « Afronauts » Sundance Ff, Berlinale, AFI Fest, Chicago Iff ; 2014 - short film "Boneshaker" Sundance Ff, SXSW Ff, Chicago Iff, Edinburgh Iff) produced by Nomadic Independence (USA).
-"Blood-Drenched Beard" by Aly Muritiba (2015 - "To My Beloved" San Sebastian Ff Horizontes Latinos, Official Competition Montreal World Film Festival; 2015 - "Tarantula" Venice Ff Orizonti) produced by Rt Features (Brazil).
-"The Bus to Amerika" by Derya Durmaz (2015 - short film "Mother Virgin No More" Berlinale Generations 14plus Short Film Competition) produced by Mars Production (Turkey).
-"Dark Lies the Island" by Ian Fitzgibbon (2011 - "Death of a Superhero" Toronto Iff, Jury and Audience Awards Les Arcs European Film Festival ; 2010 - "Perrier's Bountru" Toronto Iff, Seattle Iff) produced by Grand Pictures (Ireland).
-"God Exists, her Name is Petrunija" by Teona Strugar Mitevska (2012 - "The Woman Who Brushed Her Tears" Berlinale Panaroma Special; 2008 - "I am from Tito Veles" Berlinale Panorama Section, Special Jury Award Sarajevo Ff, Toronto Iff, Cannes Ff Acid selection) produced by Sisters and Brother Mitevski Production (Macedonia).
-"Golden Voices" by Evgeny Ruman (2015 - "The Man in the Wall" Rotterdam Iff, Best acting Award Odessa Iff; 2012 - "Igor & the Cranes' Journey" Toronto Iff, Special Mention Haifa Iff) produced by United Channel Movies (Israel).
-"Prince" by Sebastian Muñoz produced by Niña Niño Films (Chile) and Le Tiro Films (Argentina).
-"Remarkable Things During a Killing" by Joko Anwar (2015 - "A Copy of my Mind" Venice Iff, Toronto Iff, Busan Iff, Rotterdam Iff; 2012 - "Ritual" SXSW, Gerardmer Fantasy Ff) produced by Lo-Fi Flicks (Indonesia).
-"When the Waves are Gone" by Lav Diaz (2016 - "A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery"Alfred Bauer Award Berlinale Official Competition; 2014 - "From What is Before" Golden Leopard Locarno Iff, Audience Award Sao paulo Iff) produced by Epicmedia (The Philippines).
Projets selected within the frame of the Focus Colombia :
"Almost Never Too Late" by Alfonso Acosta (2012 - "The Crack" Busan Iff, Sao Paulo Iff, Gerardmer Fantasy Ff, Neuchatel International Fantastic Ff) produced by Cabecitanegra Producciones.
-"The Stone" by Rafael Martinez Moreno (2015 - short film "Round Numbers" Zinebi Bilbao Official Selection; 2012 - short film "120 Minutes of Freedom", Bogota International Film Festival) produced by Miramar Entertainment.
-"The Tailor" by Cesar Heredia (2015 - short film "Elefante" Official Competition Cartagena Iff) produced by Corte Film, Tree House Film (Panama) and Diafragma (Colombia).
This selection aims at showing the diversity of world cinema, in terms of geography as well as a balance between newcomers and experienced directors. It includes:
- 1 American project, 1 Israeli project, 3 European projects, 2 Asian projects and 5 projects from Latin America including 3 projects part of the Colombian Focus
- 5 first feature films projects (marked with *)
Colombia is the guest country of this third edition
In partnership with Proimágenes Colombia, Paris Coproduction Village will present this year a « Colombian Focus », inviting 3 Colombian projects in development. A conference, organized with the support of the Cnc, will take place during the event and will discuss the improvement of the French-Colombian coproduction framework.
In addition, the 6 residents of Cannes Film Festival Cinéfondation will join the selection:
-"Feathers of a Father" by Omar El Zohairy (Egypt)
-"Fronteira" by Nuno Baltazar (Portugal)
-"Letters from the Land of the Tarahumara" by Federico Cecchetti (Mexico/France)
-"Tinnitus" by Gregorio Grazios (Brazil)
-"The Users" by Ivan Ikic (Serbia)
-"Disappearance" by Ali Asgari (Iran)
All these projects will benefit from one-to-one pre-scheduled meetings with producers, sales agents, distributors, from networking events, as well as seminars taught by leading film industry professionals.
Paris Coproduction Village is supported by the Cnc, Procirep and Cofiloisirs. It is organized in collaboration with our partners Cannes Cinéfondation, Ace, Cinando, Haf (Hong-Kong Asian Film Financing Forum), Variety, LatAm, Producers Network, Screen, Eave, Europa International, Cineuropa and Ecran Total.
The team behind Paris Coproduction Village is the team of Les Arcs European Film Festival, that is to say:
Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin, CEO
Jérémy Zelnik, Head of Industry
Alice Guilbaud, Coproduction Village Manager
Guillaume Calop, General Manager
Claire-Marine Piétriga, General Coordinator
Clémentine Larroudé, Head of Partnerships
Fabienne Silvestre-Bertoncini, Public and Institutional Relations
Us in Progress Unveils Its Project Selection
Us in Progress will take place in the scope of the 5th edition of Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris on June 8-10. The Program is a joint initiative between the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, the Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris and Black Rabbit Film in New York. It is the first and only industry event devoted to Us indies in Europe. The aim of the program is to present Us indie films in post-production to European buyers in order to foster the circulation and distribution of American indie films in Europe.
For the 5th edition of Us in Progress within the scope of the Industry Days, 4 feature-length narrative films have been selected to compete for the Us in Progress Prize :
-"California Dreams" Directed by Mike Ott / Produced by Alex Gioulakis
-"Easy Living" Directed by Adam Keleman / Produced by Laura Wagner
-"Everything Beautiful is Far Away" Directed by Pete Ohs and Andrea Sisson / Produced by Andrea Sisson and Saul Germaine
-"Otto : My Life is a Soundtrack" Directed by Margarita Jimeno / Andrew Corkin and Sol Bondy
This year, we are also introducing documentaries at the Us in Progress Paris with the selection of 2 films:
-"Academy" Directed by Brent Chesanek / Produced by Andrew Renzi and Andrew Corkin
-"Whirlybird" Directed by Matt Yoka / Produced by Steve Holmgren, Erin Lee Carr, Greg Lanesey and Matt Radecki
For two days, the project holders will present their rough cuts to 40 top European sales agents, distributors, festivals programmers and producers. On the third day, they will get advices and feedbacks from the screenings through one-to-one meetings with the buyers.
The awarded film will get post-production, acquisition and promotion services offered by our partners : TitraFilm, Europa Distribution, Producers Network, Ciné +, Eaux Vives Productions, Indiewire-SydneysBuzz, Centre Phi, Kickstarter and a newcomer the Studios d’Arenberg (Arenberg Creative Mine).
Us in Progress involves two yearly get-togethers and the next edition will take place in Wroclaw in October 2016 in the scope of the American Film Festival. Us in Progress Wroclaw’s submissions starts from April 6th to August 31st.
- 5/19/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
New projects from Evgeny Ruman [pictured], Lav Diav, Ian Fitzgibbon and Frances Bodomo to attend.Scroll down for full list of projects
Evgeny Ruman, Lav Diav, Ian Fitzgibbon and Joko Anwar will be among the directors presenting new projects at the third edition of the Paris Co-production Village in June.
A joint venture between Les Arcs European Film Festival and Champs Elysées Film Festival, the event will unfold June 8-10 in Paris as part of the latter event’s Industry Days. Its aim is to connect international film-makers and producers with French production and sales partners.
The line-up for Us in Progress has also been unveiled featuring seven projects including Easy Living by Adam Keleman who was assistant director on Brooklyn.
The central Co-production Village selection features 12 projects, hailing from Europe, Asia and Latin America, the Us and Israel.
Israeli film-maker Evgeny Ruman will present Golden Voices, his third film after The Man In The Wall which played...
Evgeny Ruman, Lav Diav, Ian Fitzgibbon and Joko Anwar will be among the directors presenting new projects at the third edition of the Paris Co-production Village in June.
A joint venture between Les Arcs European Film Festival and Champs Elysées Film Festival, the event will unfold June 8-10 in Paris as part of the latter event’s Industry Days. Its aim is to connect international film-makers and producers with French production and sales partners.
The line-up for Us in Progress has also been unveiled featuring seven projects including Easy Living by Adam Keleman who was assistant director on Brooklyn.
The central Co-production Village selection features 12 projects, hailing from Europe, Asia and Latin America, the Us and Israel.
Israeli film-maker Evgeny Ruman will present Golden Voices, his third film after The Man In The Wall which played...
- 5/15/2016
- ScreenDaily
When some of the most invigorating and intriguing American independent filmmakers join together to interpret each other's dreams on screen, cinematic magic is inevitable. The thought of Lily Baldwin (Sleepover La), Frances Bodomo (Afronauts), Daniel Patrick Carbone (Hide Your Smiling Faces), Josephine Decker (Thou Wast Mild and Lovely), and Lauren Wolkstein (Social Butterfly) collaborating on a film project together should be mind-blowing to anyone who has paid close attention to any of these filmmakers.
- 3/14/2016
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
What happens when five independent filmmakers join together to adapt each other's dreams for the big screen? If the results are anything like the exclusive poster above, than the final product will be as experimental and avant-garde as it is stunningly visual. Entitled "collective:unconscious," the new film is a collaborative experiment from directors Josephine Decker ("Thou Wast Mild and Lovely"), Frances Bodomo ("Afronauts"), Daniel Patrick Carbone ("Hide Your Smiling Faces"), Lauren Wolkstein ("Social Butterfly") and Lily Baldwin ("Sleepover La"). Read More: Exclusive: Award-Winning Indie Filmmakers Adapt Dreams for Web Series The official synopsis reads: "A man and his grandmother hide out from an ominous broadcast. The Grim Reaper hosts a TV show. The formerly incarcerated recount and reinterpret their first days of freedom. A suburban mom's life is upturned by the beast growing inside of...
- 2/16/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
"I owe a good part of my sensibility, if not my career, to the films of Mark Rappaport, an American director who now lives in Paris," writes Matt Zoller Seitz at the top of his interview for RogerEbert.com. We've also gathered interviews with Mike Ott and Nathan Silver, Ben Rivers, Sean Baker, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, Philippe Grandrieux (Malgré la nuit), Peter Greenaway (with Elmer Bäck and Luis Alberti), cinematographer Edward Lachman, Frances Bodomo (Afronauts), Lee Grant, Gregory Crewdson, Jean-Claude Carrière, Michael Winterbottom, Owen Wilson—and in Interview, you'll find Peter Dinklage talking with Paul Dano. » - David Hudson...
- 2/8/2016
- Keyframe
"I owe a good part of my sensibility, if not my career, to the films of Mark Rappaport, an American director who now lives in Paris," writes Matt Zoller Seitz at the top of his interview for RogerEbert.com. We've also gathered interviews with Mike Ott and Nathan Silver, Ben Rivers, Sean Baker, Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani, Philippe Grandrieux (Malgré la nuit), Peter Greenaway (with Elmer Bäck and Luis Alberti), cinematographer Edward Lachman, Frances Bodomo (Afronauts), Lee Grant, Gregory Crewdson, Jean-Claude Carrière, Michael Winterbottom, Owen Wilson—and in Interview, you'll find Peter Dinklage talking with Paul Dano. » - David Hudson...
- 2/8/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
In terms of support, they got a taste for what the Sundance Institute had to offer in concretizing aspects of their respective screenplays and in terms of scenery, they’ll need to pack significantly less heavier suitcases. Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), Olivia Newman (First Match), Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (pictured above) (Mustang) & Yung Chang (Eggplant), Christopher Makoto Yogi (I Was A Simple Man), Mark Kindred (Rogue) and trio Brent Green, Michael McGinley and Thyra Heder‘s untitled project are technically moving onto the next round working on the directing portion of their projects at the June Directors and Screenwriters Labs. they’ll be joined by The Imposter helmer Bart Layton‘s narrative debut, American Animals. The Screenwriters Lab attendees are Dan Krauss‘ docu-to-feature adaptation of The Kill Team, Boots Riley‘s Sorry to Bother You, Frances Bodomo, Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani and Irakli Solomanashvili‘s Afronauts, and finally Fernando Coimbra‘s The...
- 5/7/2015
- by admin
- IONCINEMA.com
The Sundance Institute has announced the 13 projects selected for the 2015 June Directors and Screenwriters Labs.
The event, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from May 25-June 25, runs annually in order to discover and enhance the up-and-coming independent film artists in film, theatre, new media and episodic content.
Each filmmaker will also work with a group of Creative Advisors, professional actors and production crews, including Robert Redford, Catherine Hardwicke, Ed Harris, Caleb Deschanel and Scott Z Burns.
This year’s selections feature works from six different countries, including the Us, Brazil, China, France, Georgia and the UK and vary from documentary, theatre, music, animation, new media and visual art categories.
The selections are:
Bart Layton / American Animals (UK);
Yung Chang / Eggplant (China-Canada):
Olivia Newman / First Match (USA);
Christopher Makoto Yogi / I Was A Simple Man (USA);
Nia DaCosta / Little Woods (USA);
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre / Mustang (France);
Mark Kindred / Rogue (USA); and
Brent Green, Michael McGinley and [link...
The event, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from May 25-June 25, runs annually in order to discover and enhance the up-and-coming independent film artists in film, theatre, new media and episodic content.
Each filmmaker will also work with a group of Creative Advisors, professional actors and production crews, including Robert Redford, Catherine Hardwicke, Ed Harris, Caleb Deschanel and Scott Z Burns.
This year’s selections feature works from six different countries, including the Us, Brazil, China, France, Georgia and the UK and vary from documentary, theatre, music, animation, new media and visual art categories.
The selections are:
Bart Layton / American Animals (UK);
Yung Chang / Eggplant (China-Canada):
Olivia Newman / First Match (USA);
Christopher Makoto Yogi / I Was A Simple Man (USA);
Nia DaCosta / Little Woods (USA);
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre / Mustang (France);
Mark Kindred / Rogue (USA); and
Brent Green, Michael McGinley and [link...
- 5/7/2015
- ScreenDaily
The Los Cabos International Film Festival is bestowing a $56,000 prize from Labodigital on the Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi).
The grant builds on the existing relationship between the Mexico and New York festivals, which are collaborating on a project exchange at the Tribeca Film Festival’s Industry Area called Cabos Discovery Meetings.
The new prize will go to a project backed by the Tfi Documentary Fund and covers post-production services provided by Labodigital and an invite to the director and cinematographer to attend the fourth Los Cabos festival that runs from November 11-15.
Frances Bodomo’s (pictured) Afronauts won $8,000 at last year’s festival in Mexico and a $25,000 prize to fund post-production awarded by Splendor Omnia.
Tfi has selected two projects from the 2014 Los Cabos festival for the Bloomberg Award: Astrid Rondero’s Our Darkest Days will receive $10,000 and Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Museum gets $12,000.
Both filmmakers are attending the Tribeca Film festival...
The grant builds on the existing relationship between the Mexico and New York festivals, which are collaborating on a project exchange at the Tribeca Film Festival’s Industry Area called Cabos Discovery Meetings.
The new prize will go to a project backed by the Tfi Documentary Fund and covers post-production services provided by Labodigital and an invite to the director and cinematographer to attend the fourth Los Cabos festival that runs from November 11-15.
Frances Bodomo’s (pictured) Afronauts won $8,000 at last year’s festival in Mexico and a $25,000 prize to fund post-production awarded by Splendor Omnia.
Tfi has selected two projects from the 2014 Los Cabos festival for the Bloomberg Award: Astrid Rondero’s Our Darkest Days will receive $10,000 and Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Museum gets $12,000.
Both filmmakers are attending the Tribeca Film festival...
- 4/21/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The term ‘Afrofuturism*’ was coined by an American writer, Mark Dery, in 1994, and many of the key artists and theorists associated with the movement — Sun Ra, George Clinton, Janelle Monae, Flying Lotus, Greg Tate, Octavia Butler, Samuel R. Delany, Alondra Nelson, the list goes on — are/were American. But is it solely an American deal? In curating the film program ‘Space is the Place: Afrofuturism on Film’ at Brooklyn’s BAMcinématek, I wanted to highlight that the movement also has a distinct international, pan-African reach.** I included Wanuri Kahiu’s superb “Pumzi”, which is Kenya’s first science fiction film. “Afronauts” by Frances Bodomo — who grew up in Ghana (and Norway,...
- 4/11/2015
- by Ashley Clark
- ShadowAndAct
American Gigola: Olnek’s Hilarious Sophomore Film Reinvents the Masculine Realm of Hustler Bonding
Few filmmakers are able to successfully create a distinctly unique universe of off-kilter comedy both consistent in tone and unwavering quality, especially if it also happens to be cobbled together from a mixture of limited resources. But you can add director Madeleine Olnek to a shortlist of such names with her sophomore film, The Foxy Merkins, an inspired ode to male-hustler buddy films from the vintage 1970s, transposed to modern day and removed from the arena of the heteronormative. Perhaps scrappy and episodic, which only adds to its infectious charm, this is an unfailingly funny film, proving Olnek to be a refreshing voice to behold in an era of repetitive storytelling and mediocre beats within the realm of independent film.
In what appears to be a bid to reconnect with her mother, Margaret (Lisa Haas) takes off to New York City,...
Few filmmakers are able to successfully create a distinctly unique universe of off-kilter comedy both consistent in tone and unwavering quality, especially if it also happens to be cobbled together from a mixture of limited resources. But you can add director Madeleine Olnek to a shortlist of such names with her sophomore film, The Foxy Merkins, an inspired ode to male-hustler buddy films from the vintage 1970s, transposed to modern day and removed from the arena of the heteronormative. Perhaps scrappy and episodic, which only adds to its infectious charm, this is an unfailingly funny film, proving Olnek to be a refreshing voice to behold in an era of repetitive storytelling and mediocre beats within the realm of independent film.
In what appears to be a bid to reconnect with her mother, Margaret (Lisa Haas) takes off to New York City,...
- 12/1/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Los Cabos International Film Festival took place this month of November. It was a brave move to keep it going after Cabo had been so hard hit by Hurricane Odile with winds of 125mph less than a month earlier. The vast destruction in our part of town was quickly being repaired though traces remained visible and repairs still to be done necessitated cutting the normal invitation list by half and doubling up hotel rooms for a few unlucky journalists. That being said, there were 15,000 attending the festival. Volunteers wore the worthy words on their t-shirts: #Unstoppable, and they were that.
For all the infrastructure problems of the city in the midst of rebuilding itself, the festival seemed to thrive with all sorts of invitees showing up from all over the world. It seemed like gala events, panels, master classes, coproduction meetings, works in progress, screenings and interviews were constantly taking place. It was a great team and we all felt part of it.
The festival is overseen by the executive board members Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Alfonso Pascal Barcenas, Scott Cross and Sean Cross (who also founded Vail Film Festival) and is organized by the festival team of Alonso Aguilar (General Director), Alejandra Paulin (General Coordinator) - who was a great market director in Guadajalara before coming here, Maru Garzon (Head of Programming), Ana Molinar Trujillo (Communication Manager), and Monica Herrera (Film Programmer). My friend from Guadalajara, normally an English teacher, Fabian Cruz was also there working for the festival.
When Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo remembers how he first came to Los Cabos, there is no doubt in his mind that destiny and luck played an important part. When he married his wife 30 years ago, he decided to travel along the entire Pacific Coast, from Acapulco to Mazatlan, where he crossed over to La Paz eventually driving to Los Cabos. The beauty of the area impressed him and it was during this trip that he and his wife decided to buy a vacation home in Los Cabos, thus beginning a distinguished career as a principal player and developer of what is Los Cabos today. Over the course of more than 20 years, his company, Grupo Questro, has emerged as one of the most highly respected developers in all of Mexico. He, together with Juan Gallardo Thurlow, Scott Cross, and Sean Cross, founded the festival in 2012.
My job as a journalist was to explore and write, hard to do when you are having such fun 24/7. We journalists were all in one hotel where we were given space and time to bond. Travel writers mixed with trade writers: from Film Journal David Noh, whose article is worth sharing here, my colleagues Peter Rainer from NPR and Christian Science Monitor, Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood on Indiewire, Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com and many others met and mixed. Also Ira Deutchman of Colombia University Film School and Emerging Pictures and Robin Brock of Creative Coalition were there with time to share dinners.
The filmmakers, in another hotel, mixed by day and at the communal lunches and parties. I will write more on them in an upcoming blog! After all, filmmakers are the backbone of our industry. Without them, we have nothing!
The agents, mostly from CAA, were placed in another hotel, luxurious and far away. As someone said, Cabos is like Cannes, only in November. If so, perhaps they were at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes. (Actually they were at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences) CAA has always been an honored part of this festival. I have heard that that is because someone with lots of money from Mexico invests it in cinema through CAA and even started the festival. That is, however, pure conjecture. Under the guidance of CAA agent, Micah Green, people can be assured that the directions he sees and the decisions he makes about investing private individuals' capital into filmed entertainment is priceless. I could think of no one I would trust more --in this untrustworthy business we are in-- than Micah.
At least two other agents – Bec Smith and Rena Ronson from UTA -- were also there. Rena and Micah were on the Film Financing Panel moderated by Variety’s expert in all things Iberoamerican and my idol, John Hopewell. Other participants on the Film Finance Panel were Jonathan King, Evp of Production at Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media whose partnership with Canana formed Participant PanAmerican production fund. “No” by Pablo Lorrain was their first investment. Pp also financed "El Ardor" which played in Cannes and “Cesar Chavez”, directed by Diego Luna. Also on the panel were Mark Musselman of Canada’s 10X2yinc, the exec producer of “Eastern Promises” and most recently of “Remember” by Atom Egoyan which was also produced by Robert Lantos and son, also in Los Cabos. It went into production in 2014 and is tipped for Cannes. Other panelists included Raul Del Alto of Mexico’s Ag Studios (Itaca Films Mexico, Itaca Films USA, Itaca Films Colombia and Itaca Filkms Brazil, and Rena Ronson of UTA who, like Micah Green of CAA focuses on global film finance, distribution and marketing strategies for Independents and co-financed features and is fluent in Spanish because of her long time experience with Latin America.
At one point I looked up and found the European fund chiefs there as well, Laufey Gudjonsdottir from Iceland (where Interstellar was filmed), Katriel Schory from Israel Film Fund and Edith Sepp-Dallas from the Estonian Film Institute. They were there for Bpx. Best Practice Exchange is an initiative that brings together the leaders of film funding agencies from across the world to take part in high-level-workshops – one or two each year – designed to promote new standards of excellence in the provision of public funding for the support of film production, development and distribution. The aim of Bpx is to ensure that policies and procedures adopted by film funding agencies will act together, positively and proactively, to stimulate and sustain practices of international coproduction and cofinancing worldwide.
Triggered by the situation in which filmmaking outside the main production centers of Hollywood and Bollywood now finds itself, Bpx was created by Simon Perry, president of Ace (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen), in collaboration with Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund. It held its first workshop in February 2013 in Israel, and two further workshops in Toronto (September 2013) and Berlin (February 2014) and this was the third! Bravo!
Among the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. films that showed, the winners were as follow:
Mexico First
Mexico First winning film was ¨Llevate mis amores” ("All of Me") by Arturo Gonzalez. The film narrates the story of the generosity of the women of Las Patronas who feed the immigrants who ride La Bestia. The director was awarded a cash Prize of Usd $15,000. This film made me cry. I thought of it again when reading the L.A. Times article about the murder of Adrian Rodriguez and his assistant, Mexican good Samaritans who dedicated their scarce resources to feeding Central American migrants passing by on La Bestia, which is what the women in this movie do. And one of the women was at the festival too.
Los Cabos Competition
The Los Cabos Competition winner was “Güeros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios, also a winner at the Berlinale, Jerusalem Film Festival, Tribeca, Toronto and San Sebastian. Being sold internationally by Mundial, the joint venture of Canana (again!) and Im Global, the film has sold to Kino Lorber for U.S., Cannibal for Mexico, Dreams Hill for Italy, Noori for So. Korea and Maison Motion for Taiwan … "Güeros" is the undeniable triumph of a nouveau director who dares to pay homage the French New Wave on a wild detective hunt through Mexico City. In light of the 43 murdered students, this film, about students on strike, strikes a chord within the watcher. The film´s producer won a Usd $15,000 cash prize.
Work In Progress Mexico
The second Work in Progress Mexico prize was awarded to "Los Herederos," by Jorge Hernandez, a film that describes adolescent effervescence and idleness through a group of friends who spend their vacations adrenaline-seeking through parties, sex and alcohol. The winner received a Usd $10,000 cash prize.
Mexico-usa-canada Co-production Forum
The winner of the first Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum was also announced: "Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo, based on the real life story of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Investigación Espacial e Investigación Astronómica of Zambia. Writer- Director Frances Bodomo received a Usd $8,000 cash prize. It also received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Mexico First: Fox +
In its second year running the México Primero: Fox+ chose one of the films that participated to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The México Primero: Fox+ prize consists of Usd $40,000 and was awarded to Isaac Ezban´s "El Incidente" ("The Incident"), two M.C. Escher-maze-like parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road… for a very long time. The international sales agent, Shoreline, will be showing the film at Ventana Sur December 3rd at 17:00 at Cinemark 3.
Work In Progress Mexico Fox +
In its second year running as well, Work in Progress México Fox+ selected a participating film to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The Usd $30,000 prize was awarded to Katina Medina Mora’s "Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz", produced by Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann.
Work In Progress Mexico Chemistry
This Third edition of the Festival also witnessed the first Work In Progress México –Chemistry award. Chemistry post-production studios granted the winner, Jorge Hernandez’s "Los Herederos", $45,000 Usd in color correction services.
Mexico – USA – Canada Splendor Omnia Mantarraya Co-production Forum
On its first year running, the Coproduction Forum Mexico- USA- Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArraya will be granting a $30,000 Usd equivalent prize worth 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, as well as a paid stay in Tepoztlan Morelos, site of their studios, to the winner "Afronauts" by Francez Bodomo (U.S.).
The key phrase to understanding Cabo is "Seeing what the neighbors do" as the festival and market connects Canada, U,S, and Mexico in showing of films and exploring coproduction. And the mixing of filmmakers and journalists from all three Americas was exciting in the possibilities it offered to everyone.
As for the hard-core business done there:
Mark Kassen will be directing "Criminal Empire for Dummies" written by Cliff Dorman. Kassen will also be producing the film along with James Gibb of Cutting Edge Group and Greg Hajdarowicz of Gremi Films. The deal took place at the exclusive resort Hacienda Beach Club & Residences and was reported by Variety.
Actor and producer Luis Gerardo Mendez ("Nosotros Los Nobles") signed a representation agreement with Paradigm. Reported by Variety. So I guess Paradigm also sent agents to Los Cabos.
Pat Saperstein of Variety also attended Los Cabos and scooped a story, that “Wolverine Hotel” from director Patricia Chica who was participating in the Coproduction Forum, is closing in on production with a "recent financing commitment from Jean-Guy Després, who will serve as exec producer. The edgy crime thriller is produced by Canada-based Byron Martin. Looking to cast a Latino actor as co-star, Chica met with rising Mexican thesp Luis Gerardo Mendez ('We Are the Nobles') during Afm though he has not yet been attached. 'A Latino star opens up a market', said Martin."
Celebrated producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribución. She has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". "Instructions Not Included" the Us$ 5.5 million film that grossed Us$ 100 million worldwide was also her production. With this Pan-American initiative, the company will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets. Reported by Variety again!! You would think John was the only real reporter there. Pinske should be proud of him! Most of us got no scoops, but then, I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy - which I am not because at heart, I am not a reporter hunting for news, but rather a gatherer of information and a writer.
Speaking of Monica Lozano, the Germany-based international sales agent, Media Luna, acquired world rights to Internet Junkie, directed by Alexander Katzowicz and produced by Monica Lozano. Variety reports on this again!
"Yamaha 300", a participating project of the 1st Mexico – USA- Canada Coproduction Forum, produced by Valerium Arts (Mayra Espinosa y Jorge Michel Grau, producer and writer-director of the horror hit "Somos lo que hay" respectively, and Grau, the writer of the remake "We Are What We Are") and Uncorked Productions (Andrew Corkin, the producer of the horror film "What We Were"), will be one of the first projects to receive the development stage and postproduction support offered by The Good Film Fund, an initiative of Media Darling (Amy Darling) and The Chatanooga Film Festival. See Variety.
New York producer Dodgeville Films ("To Be Takei") will be joining Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce "Ya no estoy aquí", Fernando Frias’s second film, which was also a winner during Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition. This film in the Coproduction Forum was reported on in Variety.
"Siete Horas" ("Seven Hours"), one of the winning projects of the second Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund edition, which will be directed by Chema Rodriguez and produced by Francisco Vargas, the renowned director of the film "El violin", made an alliance with the Spanish production companies Sin un Duro and Noodles Prods to co-produce the project. (Variety)
CineTren closed deals to handle Latin American distribution for Spring, a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead film, whose Latin American Premiere was held at Los Cabos International Film Festival. Negotiations between Nate Bolotin and Marie Katz fromLos Angeles-based Xyz and Manuel Garcia from CineTren, took place at the Hotel Grand Solmar. Next time, I'll have to visit all the hotels!! See Variety article.
BH5 Group, which participates in the executive production of "Remember" by Atom Egoyan, will be working with Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of Güeros, in his second movie: Museo, a project that participated in the Ist Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum. Even though Variety wrote about this, my blog on the three year old conglomerate of companies, BH5, was more complete:
BH5 Group Makes a Splash with Three Impressive Films at Los Cabos Int'l Film Fest
BH5, a conglomerate of five formerly independent production companies all run by various friends from the same film school, will be working the international markets much more. Besides the Toronto hit, Jodorowsky's "Dance of Reality", they are working with larger companies like Pathe now. Their work in progress, "You Will Know What To Do With Me" ("Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz") which just won the The Usd $30,000 prize of Fox+, is seeking an international sales agent.
"Entrevero" by Max Zunino, also winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition, was selected in the development project category by Ibermedia. See Variety.
And though Colombian Ciro Guerra, whose "The Wind Journeys" was produced by our German friends Roman Paul and Gerhard Meixner at Razor Film Production and by Burning Blue's prolific Diana Bustamente -- who is now also heading the Carthagena Film Festival -- showed in 2009 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was sold by Paris’ Elle Driver to 19 countries including Film Movement for U.S., announced to Variety's John Hopewell that his next film, "Embrace of the Serpent" will star U.S. actor Brionne Davis (“Savaged”) and Belgium’s Jan Bijvoet, the lead in Cannes Competition entry “Borgman” a really creepy dark comedy, he did not discuss his next project "Taganga" in the Coproduction Forum. "Taganga" is about a fisherman from a small village by the Colombian coast where many foreign-owned scuba diving centers have been established. A new law requiring local fisherman to change the motors of their boats forces him to earn quick money, so he chooses to dynamite to fish. The owner of the largest scuba diving center opposes this use of explosives. When the fisherman receives a death threat if he continues the dynamiting of fish, he assumes the center's owner is behind the threat. In order to prove it, he begins a series of fateful actions.
Finally, while it seems like Variety wrote all the news, I have one item which no one has reported on. Reese Witherspoon stated at her press conference in Los Cabos, where her film "Wild" premiered in a red carpet gala, that she is talking to Eugenio Derbez ("Instructions Not Included") to make a movie with him. I heard her say it and later spoke of this to Ben Odell (my next blog on Los Cabos features him). Ben (now partners with Eugenio at 3Pas Studios) said, Actually that would be a great idea but they had not spoken about it. However, they are both represented by CAA, so it would seem like a natural and really exciting pairing. After all, aren't "Legally Blond" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" the same film? She is certainly on a role as a producer with "Wild" and David Fincher's "Gone Girl" as he is with his U.S. career. The studios are all courting her now, she said. More to come on this...
For all the infrastructure problems of the city in the midst of rebuilding itself, the festival seemed to thrive with all sorts of invitees showing up from all over the world. It seemed like gala events, panels, master classes, coproduction meetings, works in progress, screenings and interviews were constantly taking place. It was a great team and we all felt part of it.
The festival is overseen by the executive board members Eduardo Sánchez Navarro, Alfonso Pascal Barcenas, Scott Cross and Sean Cross (who also founded Vail Film Festival) and is organized by the festival team of Alonso Aguilar (General Director), Alejandra Paulin (General Coordinator) - who was a great market director in Guadajalara before coming here, Maru Garzon (Head of Programming), Ana Molinar Trujillo (Communication Manager), and Monica Herrera (Film Programmer). My friend from Guadalajara, normally an English teacher, Fabian Cruz was also there working for the festival.
When Eduardo Sánchez Navarro Redo remembers how he first came to Los Cabos, there is no doubt in his mind that destiny and luck played an important part. When he married his wife 30 years ago, he decided to travel along the entire Pacific Coast, from Acapulco to Mazatlan, where he crossed over to La Paz eventually driving to Los Cabos. The beauty of the area impressed him and it was during this trip that he and his wife decided to buy a vacation home in Los Cabos, thus beginning a distinguished career as a principal player and developer of what is Los Cabos today. Over the course of more than 20 years, his company, Grupo Questro, has emerged as one of the most highly respected developers in all of Mexico. He, together with Juan Gallardo Thurlow, Scott Cross, and Sean Cross, founded the festival in 2012.
My job as a journalist was to explore and write, hard to do when you are having such fun 24/7. We journalists were all in one hotel where we were given space and time to bond. Travel writers mixed with trade writers: from Film Journal David Noh, whose article is worth sharing here, my colleagues Peter Rainer from NPR and Christian Science Monitor, Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood on Indiewire, Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com and many others met and mixed. Also Ira Deutchman of Colombia University Film School and Emerging Pictures and Robin Brock of Creative Coalition were there with time to share dinners.
The filmmakers, in another hotel, mixed by day and at the communal lunches and parties. I will write more on them in an upcoming blog! After all, filmmakers are the backbone of our industry. Without them, we have nothing!
The agents, mostly from CAA, were placed in another hotel, luxurious and far away. As someone said, Cabos is like Cannes, only in November. If so, perhaps they were at the Eden Roc in Cap d’Antibes. (Actually they were at Hacienda Beach Club & Residences) CAA has always been an honored part of this festival. I have heard that that is because someone with lots of money from Mexico invests it in cinema through CAA and even started the festival. That is, however, pure conjecture. Under the guidance of CAA agent, Micah Green, people can be assured that the directions he sees and the decisions he makes about investing private individuals' capital into filmed entertainment is priceless. I could think of no one I would trust more --in this untrustworthy business we are in-- than Micah.
At least two other agents – Bec Smith and Rena Ronson from UTA -- were also there. Rena and Micah were on the Film Financing Panel moderated by Variety’s expert in all things Iberoamerican and my idol, John Hopewell. Other participants on the Film Finance Panel were Jonathan King, Evp of Production at Jeff Skoll’s Participant Media whose partnership with Canana formed Participant PanAmerican production fund. “No” by Pablo Lorrain was their first investment. Pp also financed "El Ardor" which played in Cannes and “Cesar Chavez”, directed by Diego Luna. Also on the panel were Mark Musselman of Canada’s 10X2yinc, the exec producer of “Eastern Promises” and most recently of “Remember” by Atom Egoyan which was also produced by Robert Lantos and son, also in Los Cabos. It went into production in 2014 and is tipped for Cannes. Other panelists included Raul Del Alto of Mexico’s Ag Studios (Itaca Films Mexico, Itaca Films USA, Itaca Films Colombia and Itaca Filkms Brazil, and Rena Ronson of UTA who, like Micah Green of CAA focuses on global film finance, distribution and marketing strategies for Independents and co-financed features and is fluent in Spanish because of her long time experience with Latin America.
At one point I looked up and found the European fund chiefs there as well, Laufey Gudjonsdottir from Iceland (where Interstellar was filmed), Katriel Schory from Israel Film Fund and Edith Sepp-Dallas from the Estonian Film Institute. They were there for Bpx. Best Practice Exchange is an initiative that brings together the leaders of film funding agencies from across the world to take part in high-level-workshops – one or two each year – designed to promote new standards of excellence in the provision of public funding for the support of film production, development and distribution. The aim of Bpx is to ensure that policies and procedures adopted by film funding agencies will act together, positively and proactively, to stimulate and sustain practices of international coproduction and cofinancing worldwide.
Triggered by the situation in which filmmaking outside the main production centers of Hollywood and Bollywood now finds itself, Bpx was created by Simon Perry, president of Ace (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen), in collaboration with Katriel Schory, executive director of the Israel Film Fund. It held its first workshop in February 2013 in Israel, and two further workshops in Toronto (September 2013) and Berlin (February 2014) and this was the third! Bravo!
Among the Mexican, Canadian and U.S. films that showed, the winners were as follow:
Mexico First
Mexico First winning film was ¨Llevate mis amores” ("All of Me") by Arturo Gonzalez. The film narrates the story of the generosity of the women of Las Patronas who feed the immigrants who ride La Bestia. The director was awarded a cash Prize of Usd $15,000. This film made me cry. I thought of it again when reading the L.A. Times article about the murder of Adrian Rodriguez and his assistant, Mexican good Samaritans who dedicated their scarce resources to feeding Central American migrants passing by on La Bestia, which is what the women in this movie do. And one of the women was at the festival too.
Los Cabos Competition
The Los Cabos Competition winner was “Güeros” by Alonso Ruizpalacios, also a winner at the Berlinale, Jerusalem Film Festival, Tribeca, Toronto and San Sebastian. Being sold internationally by Mundial, the joint venture of Canana (again!) and Im Global, the film has sold to Kino Lorber for U.S., Cannibal for Mexico, Dreams Hill for Italy, Noori for So. Korea and Maison Motion for Taiwan … "Güeros" is the undeniable triumph of a nouveau director who dares to pay homage the French New Wave on a wild detective hunt through Mexico City. In light of the 43 murdered students, this film, about students on strike, strikes a chord within the watcher. The film´s producer won a Usd $15,000 cash prize.
Work In Progress Mexico
The second Work in Progress Mexico prize was awarded to "Los Herederos," by Jorge Hernandez, a film that describes adolescent effervescence and idleness through a group of friends who spend their vacations adrenaline-seeking through parties, sex and alcohol. The winner received a Usd $10,000 cash prize.
Mexico-usa-canada Co-production Forum
The winner of the first Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum was also announced: "Afronauts" by Frances Bodomo, based on the real life story of the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Investigación Espacial e Investigación Astronómica of Zambia. Writer- Director Frances Bodomo received a Usd $8,000 cash prize. It also received funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Mexico First: Fox +
In its second year running the México Primero: Fox+ chose one of the films that participated to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The México Primero: Fox+ prize consists of Usd $40,000 and was awarded to Isaac Ezban´s "El Incidente" ("The Incident"), two M.C. Escher-maze-like parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road… for a very long time. The international sales agent, Shoreline, will be showing the film at Ventana Sur December 3rd at 17:00 at Cinemark 3.
Work In Progress Mexico Fox +
In its second year running as well, Work in Progress México Fox+ selected a participating film to have its distribution rights pre-bought for the Latin American and Caribbean (Except Brazil) markets. The Usd $30,000 prize was awarded to Katina Medina Mora’s "Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz", produced by Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann.
Work In Progress Mexico Chemistry
This Third edition of the Festival also witnessed the first Work In Progress México –Chemistry award. Chemistry post-production studios granted the winner, Jorge Hernandez’s "Los Herederos", $45,000 Usd in color correction services.
Mexico – USA – Canada Splendor Omnia Mantarraya Co-production Forum
On its first year running, the Coproduction Forum Mexico- USA- Canada Splendor Omnia – MANTArraya will be granting a $30,000 Usd equivalent prize worth 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, as well as a paid stay in Tepoztlan Morelos, site of their studios, to the winner "Afronauts" by Francez Bodomo (U.S.).
The key phrase to understanding Cabo is "Seeing what the neighbors do" as the festival and market connects Canada, U,S, and Mexico in showing of films and exploring coproduction. And the mixing of filmmakers and journalists from all three Americas was exciting in the possibilities it offered to everyone.
As for the hard-core business done there:
Mark Kassen will be directing "Criminal Empire for Dummies" written by Cliff Dorman. Kassen will also be producing the film along with James Gibb of Cutting Edge Group and Greg Hajdarowicz of Gremi Films. The deal took place at the exclusive resort Hacienda Beach Club & Residences and was reported by Variety.
Actor and producer Luis Gerardo Mendez ("Nosotros Los Nobles") signed a representation agreement with Paradigm. Reported by Variety. So I guess Paradigm also sent agents to Los Cabos.
Pat Saperstein of Variety also attended Los Cabos and scooped a story, that “Wolverine Hotel” from director Patricia Chica who was participating in the Coproduction Forum, is closing in on production with a "recent financing commitment from Jean-Guy Després, who will serve as exec producer. The edgy crime thriller is produced by Canada-based Byron Martin. Looking to cast a Latino actor as co-star, Chica met with rising Mexican thesp Luis Gerardo Mendez ('We Are the Nobles') during Afm though he has not yet been attached. 'A Latino star opens up a market', said Martin."
Celebrated producer Monica Lozano announced the launch of Alebrije Distribución. She has had her hand in 23 productions since her first film, "Amores Perros". "Instructions Not Included" the Us$ 5.5 million film that grossed Us$ 100 million worldwide was also her production. With this Pan-American initiative, the company will acquire distribution rights for the Latin and North American markets. Reported by Variety again!! You would think John was the only real reporter there. Pinske should be proud of him! Most of us got no scoops, but then, I guess we have to prove ourselves worthy - which I am not because at heart, I am not a reporter hunting for news, but rather a gatherer of information and a writer.
Speaking of Monica Lozano, the Germany-based international sales agent, Media Luna, acquired world rights to Internet Junkie, directed by Alexander Katzowicz and produced by Monica Lozano. Variety reports on this again!
"Yamaha 300", a participating project of the 1st Mexico – USA- Canada Coproduction Forum, produced by Valerium Arts (Mayra Espinosa y Jorge Michel Grau, producer and writer-director of the horror hit "Somos lo que hay" respectively, and Grau, the writer of the remake "We Are What We Are") and Uncorked Productions (Andrew Corkin, the producer of the horror film "What We Were"), will be one of the first projects to receive the development stage and postproduction support offered by The Good Film Fund, an initiative of Media Darling (Amy Darling) and The Chatanooga Film Festival. See Variety.
New York producer Dodgeville Films ("To Be Takei") will be joining Varios Lobos in Mexico to produce "Ya no estoy aquí", Fernando Frias’s second film, which was also a winner during Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition. This film in the Coproduction Forum was reported on in Variety.
"Siete Horas" ("Seven Hours"), one of the winning projects of the second Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund edition, which will be directed by Chema Rodriguez and produced by Francisco Vargas, the renowned director of the film "El violin", made an alliance with the Spanish production companies Sin un Duro and Noodles Prods to co-produce the project. (Variety)
CineTren closed deals to handle Latin American distribution for Spring, a Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead film, whose Latin American Premiere was held at Los Cabos International Film Festival. Negotiations between Nate Bolotin and Marie Katz fromLos Angeles-based Xyz and Manuel Garcia from CineTren, took place at the Hotel Grand Solmar. Next time, I'll have to visit all the hotels!! See Variety article.
BH5 Group, which participates in the executive production of "Remember" by Atom Egoyan, will be working with Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of Güeros, in his second movie: Museo, a project that participated in the Ist Mexico- USA- Canada Co-production Forum. Even though Variety wrote about this, my blog on the three year old conglomerate of companies, BH5, was more complete:
BH5 Group Makes a Splash with Three Impressive Films at Los Cabos Int'l Film Fest
BH5, a conglomerate of five formerly independent production companies all run by various friends from the same film school, will be working the international markets much more. Besides the Toronto hit, Jodorowsky's "Dance of Reality", they are working with larger companies like Pathe now. Their work in progress, "You Will Know What To Do With Me" ("Sabras que hacer conmigo" aka "En Contraluz") which just won the The Usd $30,000 prize of Fox+, is seeking an international sales agent.
"Entrevero" by Max Zunino, also winner of the Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund second edition, was selected in the development project category by Ibermedia. See Variety.
And though Colombian Ciro Guerra, whose "The Wind Journeys" was produced by our German friends Roman Paul and Gerhard Meixner at Razor Film Production and by Burning Blue's prolific Diana Bustamente -- who is now also heading the Carthagena Film Festival -- showed in 2009 Cannes Un Certain Regard and was sold by Paris’ Elle Driver to 19 countries including Film Movement for U.S., announced to Variety's John Hopewell that his next film, "Embrace of the Serpent" will star U.S. actor Brionne Davis (“Savaged”) and Belgium’s Jan Bijvoet, the lead in Cannes Competition entry “Borgman” a really creepy dark comedy, he did not discuss his next project "Taganga" in the Coproduction Forum. "Taganga" is about a fisherman from a small village by the Colombian coast where many foreign-owned scuba diving centers have been established. A new law requiring local fisherman to change the motors of their boats forces him to earn quick money, so he chooses to dynamite to fish. The owner of the largest scuba diving center opposes this use of explosives. When the fisherman receives a death threat if he continues the dynamiting of fish, he assumes the center's owner is behind the threat. In order to prove it, he begins a series of fateful actions.
Finally, while it seems like Variety wrote all the news, I have one item which no one has reported on. Reese Witherspoon stated at her press conference in Los Cabos, where her film "Wild" premiered in a red carpet gala, that she is talking to Eugenio Derbez ("Instructions Not Included") to make a movie with him. I heard her say it and later spoke of this to Ben Odell (my next blog on Los Cabos features him). Ben (now partners with Eugenio at 3Pas Studios) said, Actually that would be a great idea but they had not spoken about it. However, they are both represented by CAA, so it would seem like a natural and really exciting pairing. After all, aren't "Legally Blond" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" the same film? She is certainly on a role as a producer with "Wild" and David Fincher's "Gone Girl" as he is with his U.S. career. The studios are all courting her now, she said. More to come on this...
- 12/1/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Los Cabos International Film Festival will offer, within its industry activities, a total of Usd $227,000 to support projects from Mexico, the U.S.A. and Canada.
In its Third Edition, in an effort to contribute the development and consolidation of the North American film industry, presents as part of its industry activities, the first Mexico-usa-Canada Co-production Forum .
Los Cabos Film Festival , announces the 13 participant projects in the Forum:
Afronauts by Frances Bodomo (USA). Coward by Boris Rodriguez, an Anne Marie Gélinas production (Canada). The Other Tom by Rodrigo Plá, a Sandino Saravia production (Mexico). First Match by Olivia Newman, a Veronica Nickel and Chanelle Elaine production (USA). Away from Meaning by Olivia Luengas Magaña, a Vanessa Romo Gutiérrez production (Mexico). Butterfly by Maria Saakya, a Jeff Kalousdian production (USA). Museum by Alonso Ruizpalacios, a Manuel Alcalá and Alberto Muffelman production (Mexico). Permanent by Colette Burson, a Haroula Rose and Joshua Blum production (USA). Taganga by Ciro Guerra, a Katrin Pors and Serge Noel production (Canada- Colombia). Wolverine Hotel by Patricia Chica, a Byron A. Martin production (Canada). X Quinientos by Juan Andrés Arango, a Edher Campos and Yanick Letourneau production (Canada- Mexico- Colombia). I’m No Longer Here by Fernando Frías, a Gerry Kim and Mayuran Tiruchelvam production (Mexico- USA). Yamaha 300 by Jorge Michel Grau, a Mayra Espinosa Castro production (Mexico - USA). Representatives from each project will have access to a series of one-to-one meetings with key members of the international film industry and potential co-producers.
The Co-production Forum Jury, composed of Fabien Westerhoff , Sales and Distribution Director at WestEnd Films (UK), Nick Ogiony , Sales Agent at Creative Artists Agency (USA) and Lyse Lafontaine , renowned Canadian producer, will announce the winning project at the Festival, which will receive a cash prize of Usd $8,000.
Also, the recognized studios Splendor - Omnia Mantarraya will award a prize valued at Usd$30,000 to one of the participating projects, consisting of a 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, accommodation and food for two people in Tepoztlán, Mexico.
Supporting the completion of Mexican feature or documentary films in post-production stage, Los Cabos Film Festival has announced the six films participating in the second Work In Progress Mexico :
El charro de Toluquilla by José Villalobos Romero, a Sergio Adrián Morkin and José Villalobos Romero production. Charity by Marcelino Islas Hernández, a Santiago García Galván production. Heirs by Jorge Hernández Aldana, a Michel Franco production. Light Feet by Juan Carlos Núñez, a Henry Lesperance Álvarez production. You Will Know what to Do with Me by Katina Medina Mora, a Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann production. Holy Days by Alejandra Márquez Abella, a Nicolás Celis and Sebastián Celis production.
Jaie Laplante, Director of the Miami International Film Festival (USA), Nicole Mackey, Vice President of sales agency Fortissimo Films (UK), and Nate Bolotin, Xyz Films cofounder (USA), as members of the Work In Progress Mexico Jury, will evaluate six films that compete for a cash prize of Usd$10,000 .
The TV station Fox+ will also award a prize of Usd $30,000 to one of the participating films (the equivalent to the anticipated purchase of broadcast rights for Latin America and the Caribbean, excluding Brazil through the channel’s windows). And the outstanding post-production company Chemistry will award a prize worth Usd $45,000 consisting of 80 hours of color correction, 40 hours of conform and digital mastering, and packaging in Dcp.
In addition, the two winning films of the Post-production Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund , each received from Labodigital’s Usd $52,000 in post-production services. These two films will also be part of the Work In Progress Mexico selection.
In its Third Edition, in an effort to contribute the development and consolidation of the North American film industry, presents as part of its industry activities, the first Mexico-usa-Canada Co-production Forum .
Los Cabos Film Festival , announces the 13 participant projects in the Forum:
Afronauts by Frances Bodomo (USA). Coward by Boris Rodriguez, an Anne Marie Gélinas production (Canada). The Other Tom by Rodrigo Plá, a Sandino Saravia production (Mexico). First Match by Olivia Newman, a Veronica Nickel and Chanelle Elaine production (USA). Away from Meaning by Olivia Luengas Magaña, a Vanessa Romo Gutiérrez production (Mexico). Butterfly by Maria Saakya, a Jeff Kalousdian production (USA). Museum by Alonso Ruizpalacios, a Manuel Alcalá and Alberto Muffelman production (Mexico). Permanent by Colette Burson, a Haroula Rose and Joshua Blum production (USA). Taganga by Ciro Guerra, a Katrin Pors and Serge Noel production (Canada- Colombia). Wolverine Hotel by Patricia Chica, a Byron A. Martin production (Canada). X Quinientos by Juan Andrés Arango, a Edher Campos and Yanick Letourneau production (Canada- Mexico- Colombia). I’m No Longer Here by Fernando Frías, a Gerry Kim and Mayuran Tiruchelvam production (Mexico- USA). Yamaha 300 by Jorge Michel Grau, a Mayra Espinosa Castro production (Mexico - USA). Representatives from each project will have access to a series of one-to-one meetings with key members of the international film industry and potential co-producers.
The Co-production Forum Jury, composed of Fabien Westerhoff , Sales and Distribution Director at WestEnd Films (UK), Nick Ogiony , Sales Agent at Creative Artists Agency (USA) and Lyse Lafontaine , renowned Canadian producer, will announce the winning project at the Festival, which will receive a cash prize of Usd $8,000.
Also, the recognized studios Splendor - Omnia Mantarraya will award a prize valued at Usd$30,000 to one of the participating projects, consisting of a 40 hours of color correction, 40 hours of sound mixing, accommodation and food for two people in Tepoztlán, Mexico.
Supporting the completion of Mexican feature or documentary films in post-production stage, Los Cabos Film Festival has announced the six films participating in the second Work In Progress Mexico :
El charro de Toluquilla by José Villalobos Romero, a Sergio Adrián Morkin and José Villalobos Romero production. Charity by Marcelino Islas Hernández, a Santiago García Galván production. Heirs by Jorge Hernández Aldana, a Michel Franco production. Light Feet by Juan Carlos Núñez, a Henry Lesperance Álvarez production. You Will Know what to Do with Me by Katina Medina Mora, a Gerardo Gatica and Alberto Muffelmann production. Holy Days by Alejandra Márquez Abella, a Nicolás Celis and Sebastián Celis production.
Jaie Laplante, Director of the Miami International Film Festival (USA), Nicole Mackey, Vice President of sales agency Fortissimo Films (UK), and Nate Bolotin, Xyz Films cofounder (USA), as members of the Work In Progress Mexico Jury, will evaluate six films that compete for a cash prize of Usd$10,000 .
The TV station Fox+ will also award a prize of Usd $30,000 to one of the participating films (the equivalent to the anticipated purchase of broadcast rights for Latin America and the Caribbean, excluding Brazil through the channel’s windows). And the outstanding post-production company Chemistry will award a prize worth Usd $45,000 consisting of 80 hours of color correction, 40 hours of conform and digital mastering, and packaging in Dcp.
In addition, the two winning films of the Post-production Gabriel Figueroa Film Fund , each received from Labodigital’s Usd $52,000 in post-production services. These two films will also be part of the Work In Progress Mexico selection.
- 10/23/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
We’re happy to confirm one last short film and director for tonight’s “25 New Faces” program at the IFC Center in New York. Frances Bodomo will screen her extraordinary Afronauts and discuss it afterwards. In my piece on Bodomo for 25 New Faces, I wrote: Her following short, Afronauts — which she’s now turning into a feature — is an even bolder success, a hallucinatory fusion of history, science, political critique, and imaginative fantasy. Inspired by a true story, it’s about the short-lived Zambia space program, that African country’s real attempt to beat the U.S. into outer space. On the […]...
- 9/22/2014
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
We’re happy to confirm one last short film and director for tonight’s “25 New Faces” program at the IFC Center in New York. Frances Bodomo will screen her extraordinary Afronauts and discuss it afterwards. In my piece on Bodomo for 25 New Faces, I wrote: Her following short, Afronauts — which she’s now turning into a feature — is an even bolder success, a hallucinatory fusion of history, science, political critique, and imaginative fantasy. Inspired by a true story, it’s about the short-lived Zambia space program, that African country’s real attempt to beat the U.S. into outer space. On the […]...
- 9/22/2014
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
As I watched it, Frances Bodomo's "Afronauts" short film (soon to be a feature) immediately came to mind, although different stories (alternative histories of the "space race"), a continent apart, but both of the Diaspora. The fellow who put this together - Andy Bobrow - is a writer and producer on the TV comedy series "Community." Bobrow's shared the following on the film's making: "It’s a short film I made in 2003. I had the title first. It made me laugh. Then I made the movie, slowly. I figured if it sucked I wouldn’t show it to anyone. It did not suck, so here it is. This was shown at the HBO Comedy Festival in 2004 (back when it was the Aspen...
- 8/6/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
On the heels of the 39th edition of the Toronto Int. Film Festival (Sept 4-14), Ifp’s Independent Film Week is where a plethora of fiction, non-fiction and new this year, web-based series from the likes of Desiree Akhavan and Calvin Reeder find future coin. Sectioned off as projects at the very beginning of financing to those that are nearing completion, there happens to be tons of Sundance alumni in the names below. Among those that caught our attention we have Medicine for Melancholy‘s Barry Jenkins’ sophomore feature, produced by Bad Milo!‘s Adele Romanski, Moonlight is about “two Miami boys navigate the temptations of the drug trade and their burgeoning sexuality in this triptych drama about black queer youth”. Concussion‘s Stacie Passon digs into the thriller genre with Strange Things Started Happening. Produced by vet Mary Jane Skalski (Mysterious Skin), this is about “a woman who has...
- 7/24/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance Institute has announced the lineup of shorts, feature films, and panels set for its third Sundance London film and music festival, April 25-27 at the O2. Of note in the feature film program, Fela Kuti documentary Finding Fela will screen along with Ryan Coogler's Fruitvale Station, which is surprisingly screening for the first time in the UK since its premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Coogler is expected to attend and will also sit on a panel, Guts to Glory: How Do You Find Your Story? Of note in the shorts program, Frances Bodomo's Afronauts will have its UK premiere after screening at this year's festival in Park City. Find the full Sundance...
- 3/24/2014
- by Jai Tiggett
- ShadowAndAct
I identified 3 projects that S&A has already been following on the below list - Ad Inexplorata by Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Afronauts by Frances Bodomo, and Five Nights in Maine by Maris Curran. Congrats to them, and all the winners. I guess we can say it's official that Frances Bodomo's Afronauts (which we've only known as a short film), is going to be a feature as well! Exciting! I'll research all the other projects and highlight those of interest, with respect to this blog's interests. The San Francisco Film Society (Sffs) and Kenneth Rainin Foundation (Krf) have selected 15 finalists for the latest round of Sffs / Krf Filmmaking...
- 3/4/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Yesterday, Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art (NYC) revealed the complete lineup today for the 43rd edition of their New Directors/New Films event, which runs from March 19 – March 30. Films in the lineup that should be of specific interest to readers of this blog, include: Justin Simien's Dear White People, Richard Ayoade's The Double, Abdellah Taïa's Salvation Army (L’Armée du salut), and in the shorts program, Frances Bodomo's Afronauts. Ahead of the festival's opening, Film Society has begun releasing preview clips from select films, starting with Simien's much-anticipated...
- 2/21/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art (NYC) have revealed the complete lineup today for the 43rd edition of their New Directors/New Films event, which runs from March 19 – March 30. Films included in the lineup that should be of specific interest to readers of this blog are a few films we've been following on this blog: Justin Simien's Dear White People, Richard Ayoade's The Double, Abdellah Taïa's Salvation Army (L’Armée du salut), and in the shorts program, Frances Bodomo's Afronauts. There might be others that belong in that list that I'm not familiar with, but I'll be scrubbing the list later, and will return...
- 2/20/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Back in 1969, when Sundance was just a gleam in Robert Redford’s eye, members of the Zambia Space Academy also had a dream -- beating America to the moon (really). Cut to 2014 Sundance -- Ghanaian director Frances Bodomo is telling Park City all about Zambia’s misbegotten lunar mission in her short film “Afronauts.” Cut to 2016 Sundance – why not? this is the Space Age after all – and Bodomo is back with the feature version of her Afrological adventure -- because the Sloan Foundation, always looking to mainstream science, has found a project worth supporting in Bodomo’s wacky yarn. This is the 12th year that the Sloan Foundation has partnered with Sundance, and will again be giving out its coveted Sloan Award (and the $20,000 that goes with it) to the film that best represents science, or makes technological concepts accessible to mainstream audiences. On Tuesday, the “Cosmic Crossroads” panel takes...
- 1/20/2014
- by John Anderson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Congrats to Frances Bodomo (Afronauts), Najy Esmail (Om Amira), and the South African team behind (and in front of) Noye’s Fludde on their selections by the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), each making their international premiere at the prestigious annual event next month. There might be other films and filmmakers I'm not already familiar with on this long list, that should be mentioned here, so I'll be looking up each of these individually to see if there are any others to highlight/profile. In 2014, 25 films from 21 countries will be competing for the Golden Bear for Best Short Film and the Silver Bear Jury Prize.The International Short Film Jury awards a Golden...
- 1/13/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Selection competing for the Golden Bear includes films from 21 countries.
A total of 25 films from 21 countries will compete for the Golden Bear for Best Short Film and the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the 64th Berlinale (Feb 6-16).
The jury comprises Indonesian director Edwin, who last participated in the Berlinale Competition 2012 with Postcards from the Zoo; Nuno Rodrigues, artistic director of the Vila do Conde short film festival and founder of Agência - Portuguese Short Film Agency; and Lebanese curator Christine Tohme.
They will award a Golden and a Silver Bear, the Daad Short Film Prize as well as the Berlin Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards.
Berlinale Shorts 2014
Afronauts, Frances Bodomo, USA, 13’ (IP)
Birds, Ulu Braun, Germany, 15’ (Wp)
La Casona (The Big House), Juliette Touin, Cuba, 25’ (IP)
darkroom, Billy Roisz, Austria, 13’ (Wp)
Do serca Twego (To Thy Heart), Ewa Borysewicz, Poland, 10’ (IP)
Im Tekhayekh, Ha’Olam Yekhayekh Elekha (Smile, and the World...
A total of 25 films from 21 countries will compete for the Golden Bear for Best Short Film and the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the 64th Berlinale (Feb 6-16).
The jury comprises Indonesian director Edwin, who last participated in the Berlinale Competition 2012 with Postcards from the Zoo; Nuno Rodrigues, artistic director of the Vila do Conde short film festival and founder of Agência - Portuguese Short Film Agency; and Lebanese curator Christine Tohme.
They will award a Golden and a Silver Bear, the Daad Short Film Prize as well as the Berlin Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards.
Berlinale Shorts 2014
Afronauts, Frances Bodomo, USA, 13’ (IP)
Birds, Ulu Braun, Germany, 15’ (Wp)
La Casona (The Big House), Juliette Touin, Cuba, 25’ (IP)
darkroom, Billy Roisz, Austria, 13’ (Wp)
Do serca Twego (To Thy Heart), Ewa Borysewicz, Poland, 10’ (IP)
Im Tekhayekh, Ha’Olam Yekhayekh Elekha (Smile, and the World...
- 1/13/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
While most of the attention around the Sundance lineup has gone to the feature programs there are - as always - a number of fascinating titles to be found among the short film selections, among them Frances Bodomo's Afronauts.July 1969. It's the night of the moon landing. And a ragtag group of Zambian exiles are trying to beat America to the moon.Yep, it's a period set alternate history of the space race. And the trailer - embedded below - is a really striking piece of work. Check it out....
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 12/16/2013
- Screen Anarchy
The final piece of the Sundance puzzle emerges today in the shape of the shorts lineup, with that broken down into U.S. narrative, international narrative, doc and animation. With U.S. narrative, as ever there are a handful of directors already with features under their belts who are returning to the festival, such as Musa Syeed (The Big House), Todd Rohal (Rat Pack Rat) and Dustin Guy Defa (Person to Person ). There are also few directors with new work who have distinguished themselves already in shorts, such as The Strange Ones‘ co-director Christopher Radcliff (Jonathan’s Chest) and Boneshaker‘s Frances Bodomo (Afronauts), plus a handful […]...
- 12/10/2013
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The final piece of the Sundance puzzle emerges today in the shape of the shorts lineup, with that broken down into U.S. narrative, international narrative, doc and animation. With U.S. narrative, as ever there are a handful of directors already with features under their belts who are returning to the festival, such as Musa Syeed (The Big House), Todd Rohal (Rat Pack Rat) and Dustin Guy Defa (Person to Person ). There are also few directors with new work who have distinguished themselves already in shorts, such as The Strange Ones‘ co-director Christopher Radcliff (Jonathan’s Chest) and Boneshaker‘s Frances Bodomo (Afronauts), plus a handful […]...
- 12/10/2013
- by Nick Dawson
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.